2 Responses to “Stephen Lendman: Islamofascist Rule in Egypt”

Islam is a world religion, not a political creed or political ideology. Those who misuse or abuse the name of Islam (Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat-e-Islami, etc.) for their sordid objectives of gaining political power and using Islam as a totalitarian ideology are political manipulators and enemies of freedom of conscience and democratic norms. In their hands Islam becomes a tool of oppression, virtually Islamofascism.

Dr Ibrahim Kazerooni wrote: Permit me to agree with the later part of your assessment, but disagree with the earlier distinction that Islam is a world religion but not a political….
If you mean that Islam does not include politics the way it defines it, I tend to disagree, if however you meant by creed and ideology the contemporary connotations used in IR, political philosophy etc. that is different

As far as you asseememt of MB in Egypt etc. you are right on

Nasir Khan wrote: Dr Kazerooni, I welcome your insightful comment. In fact, I had written my short comment as an introductory piece to Stephen Lendman’s article. Those who do not know Lendman may see him to be against Islam and Muslims. But he is one of the staunchest supporters of Muslim countries that have been subject to U.S. wars of aggression and colonial exploitation. He continues to lay bare the deceptive propaganda and militaristic policies of U.S. imperialism and stands for the rights of the Muslim people. In this article he had shown some simple facts about Morsi and the political agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Among those who have been vociferous representatives of Islamic polity based on ‘Islamic ideology’ are the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) of Pakistan whose influence extended to India, Kashmir, Bangladesh, etc. JI as a well-organised political party has been a leading force of reaction within Pakistan and has led long campaigns against democratic organisations and progressive forces. At this critical juncture, MB and President Morsi, a manoeuvring leader of the MB, pose a real danger to Egyptian people’s struggle that had started two years ago to topple the pro-Zionist puppet Mubarak and his corrupt system.

The question about the role of politics within the teachings of Islam is a vast and complex theme. At present I will leave that untouched because of the lack of time. But to leave Islam and Islam’s political and cultural heritage in the hands of MB and the likes of JI where these reactionaries impose and will continue to impose their versions of ‘Islamic political system’ on the masses should be totally unacceptable to those who stand for people’s democracy and universal declaration of human rights.